Cable clamps



May 25, 1965 Fig; 2

United States Patent 3,184,817 CABLE CLAMPS Marie Archer, nee Chesnais, 2 Harneau des Perdrix, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France Filed Apr. 2, W63, Ser. No. 270,091 Claims priority, application France, Apr. 5, 1962, 893,374 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-123) In order to keep a cable loop firmly closed, a metallic sleeve of substantially oval section is used, which is called a cable clamp, in which the two strands of the cable are engaged, and which is deformed radially in order to crush the metal. The pressure necessary for such deformation must be extremely high, since the metal must flow into the interstices of the cable strands. Furthermore the latter must be compressed to the maximum in order that the reduction of its diameter may be at least equal to that which would result from a traction upon this cable, otherwise it would escape from the sleeve in the course of use.

The very high deformation pressure causes above all stresses in the middle part of the sleeve, that is to say between the two strands of the cable, where there is situated the greatest space to be filled by deformation of the metal. Thus the sleeves frequently break at this region; therefore one has already thought of creating two bosses on the inner face of the sleeve, which partly fill the interval of the two strands, so that the deformation pressure has substantially the same etfects-over the entire extent of the sleeve, and the latter is no longer subjected to exaggerated and unevenly distributed stresses.

These sleeves nevertheless have drawbacks, since their use is not practical. In fact, the internal bosses leave only the passage aperture just necessary for the two strands. Now the diameter of the cables is not absolutely invariable, and it can occur that the placing of the cable in position is very difficult, causing a loss of time, or even impossible. Even if the cable has the intended diameter, it rubs against the sleeve during its insertion, and its placing in position is very toilsome.

On the other hand, the present invention remedies all these drawbacks, and to this end has for its object a cable clamp characterised in that it comprises a sleeve whose opening is oblong, while on its outer periphery it possesses two opposite bosses situated at the middle of the height of the said sleeve.

In this fashion one provides a sufiicient quantity of material to fill the empty volume existing between the two strands in order to avoid all stress on the sleeve, but nevertheless the original opening of the sleeve is large enough to permit easy introduction of the two strands of the cable.

Further accessory characteristics of the invention will appear from the detailed description below given with reference to the accompanying drawing. The description and drawing are of course given only by way of indicative and non-limitative example.

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the cable clamp accord ing to the invention before deformation, the strands of the cable being in section;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the same cable clamp, after deformation.

As represented in the drawing, the cable clamp according to the invention comprises a metallic sleeve 1, the opening 2 of which has an oblong shape, so as to be able to receive the two strands 3a and 3b of a cable easily.

On its external periphery the sleeve 1 possesses two bosses 4 situated at the middle of the height of the sleeve, that is to say at the level of the interval between the strands 3a and 3b. The quantity of metal forming the bosses 4 in relation to the regular profile of the sleeve 1 is substantially that which is sulhcient to fill the empty volume between the strands 3a and 3b.

On deformation of the sleeve 1, the pressure of the die begins to be exerted upon the bosses 4, as indicated by the arrows A. Thus in a first virtual phase of the deformation the sleeve assumes the form indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1. In fact the pressure tends to equalise the external contour of the sleeve 1 and the supplementary metal of the bosses 4 flows towards the interior. The fibres of the metal are suitably oriented and the elastic limit is not exceeded. In a second virtual phase, the whole of the sleeve is crushed in order to terminate in the form represented diagrammatically in FIGURE 2.

The invention is not limited to the single form of embodiment as described and represented, but on the contrary covers all variants of embodiment and application thereof.

I claim:

1. A cable clamp comprising a deformable tubular sleeve which is originally of uniform, substantially oval cross-section throughout its length, said sleeve having an internal bore for receiving two branches of at least one cable which are to be joined together with the branches in side-by-side relation throughout the entire length of said sleeve, said bore originally having opposed, parallel, fiat planar inner wall surface portions throughout its length at the opposite sides of the plane of symmetry of the sleeve which is coincident with the major axis of its oval cross-section, the distance between said parallel, flat planar inner wall surface portions being at least slightly larger than the diameters of the cable branches so that the latter may be easily inserted therebetween with two free internal spaces remaining between said fiat planar inner wall surface portions and the two cable branches at the opposite sides of the contact line of the latter, and said sleeve further having external longitudinal bosses extending along the entire length of the sleeve at the opposite sides of said plane of symmetry and located in correspondence with said two free internal spaces.

2. A cable clamp as in claim 1; wherein the volume of said external bosses is substantially equal to the difference between the volume of said bore and the volume of the portions of the cable branches received in said bore.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 650,860 6/00 McTighe. 2,008,227 7/35 Reilly. 2,327,650 8/43 Klein 24-1 15.1 2,476,731 7/ 49 Hobbs. 2,849,771 9/ 5 8 Rohland. 2,895,195 7/59 Ehrnann.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,099,301 3/55 France.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner. BOBBY R. GAY, Examiner. 

1. A CABLE CLAMP COMPRISING A DEFORMABLE TUBULAR SLEEVE WHICH IS ORIGINALLY OF UNIFORM, SUBSTANTIALLY OVAL CROSS-SECTION THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH, SAID SLEEVE HAVING AN INTERNAL BORE FOR RECEIVING TWO BRANCHES OF AT LEAST ONE CABLE WHICH ARE TO BE JOINED TOGETHER WITH THE BRANCHES IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF SAID SLEEVE, SAID BORE ORIGINALLY HAVING OPPOSED, PARALLEL, FLAT PLANAR INNER WALL SURFACE PORTIONS THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH AT THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PLANE OF SYMMETRY OF THE SLEEVE WHICH IS COINCIDENT WITH THE MAJOR AXIS OF ITS OVAL CROSS-SECTION, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID PARALLEL, FLAT PLANAR INNER WALL SURFACE PORTIONS BEING AT LEAST SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE DIAMETERS OF THE CABLE BRANCHES SO THAT THE LATTER MAY BE EASILY INSERTED THEREBETWEEN WITH TWO FREE INTERNAL SPACES REMAINING BETWEEN SAID FLAT PLANAR INNER WALL SURFACES PORTIONS AND THE TWO CABLE BRANCHES T THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CONTACT LINE OF THE LATTER, AND SAID SLEEVE FURTHER HAVING EXTERNAL LONGITUDINAL BOSSES EXTENDING ALONG THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE SLEEVE AT THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID PLANE OF SYMMETRY AND LOCATED IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH SAID TWO FREE INTERNAL SPACES. 